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Comment by balfirevic | Hacker News Reader

> I've always mused that we could somehow recover some of the "wasted" time of sleeping. 8 hours every night - a third of a human's lifespan - is just so much time

8 hours - I wish!

Since starting freelancing full time I've been lucky enough to not need to get up at any particular time and ditched the alarm clock - but unlucky enough to find out that it takes me around 9-10 hours of sleep to wake up naturally.

Unfortunately, after getting used to it, waking to alarm now feels like torture (well, it did before too, now that I think about it).

So much time. Every day.

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Do you just sleep in a dark room until you wake up? I too want to ditch my normal alarm clock and I've been looking into light alarm clocks. These slowly grow brighter over time to try to wake you like natural light would, rather than using sound. I have not gotten one yet because unfortunately many of them seem overpriced or require using a mobile app with them, but I think the idea still stands.

> Do you just sleep in a dark room until you wake up?

Yes. Although I have no trouble sleeping even if the room isn't dark. Falling asleep is usually a little harder if it's not dark, but once I'm asleep the light doesn't wake me up, unless it's really bright (like sun shining directly through the fully open window).

Maybe light alarm would awake me, not sure how bright they are.

What time do you go to sleep? Also any hints of sleep apnoe?

I tried all kinds of schedules, currently from 4-5 to around 14h.

Regarding apnea - no perceptible stoppage of breathing during the night according to my partner, but I do snore sometimes. I was getting ready to do a sleep study just before the pandemic hit, I hope I will be able to do it soon.

Hypothyroidism? It's a simple blood test, you'll be able to get it done even now.

My thyroid hormone levels are normal, I've had them tested a few times (for reasons unrelated to sleep).

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